A 73-year-old man was pronounced dead at the hospital eight days after a passerby spotted his Ford F-250 sinking into the waters of Middle River.

On Feb. 22, Benoit Forisma’s white truck was traveling eastbound through the parking lot of the Lauderdale Oaks community as it drove off the paved roadway, onto the grass and into the water. Around 7:30 p.m., as the passerby noticed the vehicle partially submerged, the incident was reported to the Broward Sheriff’s Office Regional Communications.

As responding Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue personnel entered the water, the vehicle was fully submerged. They were able to extract Forisma from the vehicle and began performing CPR on scene before transporting him to Florida Medical Center. Testing confirmed Forisma was driving under the influence at the time of the incident. He remained at the facility until succumbing to his injuries on March 2.